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Legacy Weapon
A Legacy Weapon is a channeling device that through continuous use over a very long period of time, has gained a sufficient degree of spatial memory resonance to become something akin to a master rune itself. These weapons are very highly prized due to the ease with which one can activate the enchantments ingrained into them, and in ancient times were typically ancestral weapons passed down through the family. It is thought that several legendary items that have since passed into myth were actually Legacy Weapons, such as Gae Bolg, a spear which allegedly transmuted its blade into thorns upon stabbing its victim, forcing the wielder to cut it from their slain foe's flesh. History Legacy Weapons have likely existed as long as channeling devices have to some degree or another. As magic is cast through a device, its affinity grows for that specific type of magic. The issue is that, similar to how runes have to be identical to the master rune to function, each time the precise form of the channeling device changes it loses the resonance. Thus, for a channeling device to become a Legacy Weapon it must be used for a very long period of time without being changed from its initial form. This requirement resulted in very few Legacy Weapons forming until the late medieval era because the faulty construction of channeling devices of that eras before that resulted in them decaying before sufficient resonance built up. Discovery The first recorded instance of a Legacy Weapon powerful enough to be more effective than a newly made and thus less degraded channeling device was found in one of the ancient elven kingdoms destroyed in the Northern Crusades. The weapon in question was a solid bronze staff with an Areum core, and had been passed down from the owner's grandfather. The family had been poor, neither the father or the current owner had the resources to construct their own devices as was custom, so the staff had been in constant use for the family art for three generations. When the owner managed to gather the materials to create his own device later in life, they discovered that the old staff was vastly superior. After extensive testing, they found that while the new device could cast spells outside the family art as well or better than the old staff, when it came to casting the spells that the staff had been channeling for well over a century, the new device was completely inferior. Spread After the discovery of the phenomena, the more established wizarding families shifted from their focus on personalized channeling devices towards commissioning master artisans to create the most durable and enduring devices possible with the eventual aim of bequeathing them to their children. Less established families could not, as such devices were vastly more expensive and time-intensive to create, and so having a device passed down from your ancestors became a status symbol. The elves also shared their discovery with their allies in the human and dwarven wizarding communities, which would ultimately result in their downfall during the Northern Crusades, as the human knights attempted to confiscate every Legacy Weapon they could find, and often used the weapons against the very families that had created them. Many of those would wind up being reforged (thus destroying all but the most ancient of them) into blades for the leaders of the Knights Teutonic. Modern Day Legacy Weapons have fallen out of favor in most areas of the world, as their effects can be approximated with far less difficulty through advanced rune matrixes, and modern-day custom built channeling devices can in most cases completely outstrip a Legacy Weapon outside of its narrow specialization. While they still see some use in the less technologically advanced countries, even that is declining. The two exceptions are the isolationist Elven Kingdoms, who have continued to cultivate their use as part of their rejection of modern technology, and the Knights Illuminor, who are in possession of the largest cache of Legacy Weapons in existence, many dating back to the days of the Northern Crusades themselves. Characteristics Legacy Weapons, due to the potentially catastrophic results should they be significantly altered from their original form, tend to be made of the most durable substances available at the time of their creation. Metal staves, spears, and swords make up the most ancient of them, though there have been a few manifesting of late that take the form of early modern firearms. As they serve a similar purpose to a master rune, imitations of an ancient Legacy Weapon (known as Descendant Weapons) gain a weakened version of the weapons effects as long as they do not differ too greatly from the template. * Legacy Weapons are typically highly ornamented to individualize them as much as possible, as this eases the process of gaining resonance. This does, however, make them more vulnerable to being destroyed by otherwise superficial damage. * There is no specific limitation on what a Legacy Weapon can be, aside from the requirement of being a channeling device. However, the more robust and durable the item is the more likely it is to survive long enough to become one. * Legacy Weapons and Descendant Weapons require a wizard nearby to activate, but the wizard need not be the one wielding the weapon itself. The Knights Illuminor historically deploys a wizard per squad of nonmagical knights, allowing all to reap the benefits of wielding such a weapon. The identity of the wizard always concealed from the enemy at all costs. * The most ancient of Legacy Weapons have been known to retain a portion of their accumulated resonance even upon being damaged or reforged. The effects, however, are weakened, which means that this is something to be avoided if at all possible. Known Examples Knights Illuminor * Durandal, the sword of Roland. ** Famous for being enchanted to be all but indestructible and having the capability to cut through stone with ease, this Legacy Weapon is one of the greatest assets of the Knights Illuminor. No longer used since it was nearly lost after Roland's death, it is reportedly kept hidden in a vault to prevent it from being destroyed. Its Descendant Weapons are a very common sight among the higher ranking members of the Knights Illuminor. * Svalinn, the shield that protects the earth. ** The other mainstay Legacy Weapon of the Knights Illuminor, this shield, named for a mythical one in Norse mythology,